In need of some reading material? Buy powerful scrolls here.
Librarian: Neona

Moderator: Nighthand

Post Reply
Raquar
Ikkitousen
Posts: 108
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:28 pm
Location: Hiding in the shadows

Truth and Reconfiguration

Post by Raquar » Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:22 pm

His mouth tasted like dust. The ground swam whenever he tried to open his eyes so he kept them shut for now. Minutes creaked by until finally the cobblestones beneath him didn’t waver when he looked at them. Slowly placing his arms underneath his chest he managed to lever himself into a sitting position with a huge groan. He felt like he had been chewing on rocks for the past who-knew-how-long, gravel in his mouth and a pounding in his skull. It hurt way too much to think so he left trying to remember what happened for later.

“Took you long enough.”

He snapped his head toward where the voice had sounded and immediately regretted his decision. The sun stabbed through his eyes and he literally wished his head would explode. It would probably be less painful than what he was experiencing now. He buried his head in his arm as something thudded to the ground beside him.

“Easy lad. Your head has got to be roaring right about now.”

True enough, the boy felt like if he tried he could probably count the million different fissures that seemed to be racing through his skull. Taking a few moments to steady himself he opened one eye cautiously at the figure who had landed next to him. Whoever this person was, he was short and squat, a bulk of almost unimaginable capacity. He was ridiculously muscled for someone his size, his torso literally rippled any time he made even the slightest of motions. The only clothing he wore was a pair of orange shorts that seemed in danger of ripping anytime he took a step due to the sheer immensity of his quadriceps. Seeing the boy look up the man kindly squatted down so the strain wasn’t as great.

“Sorry ‘bout that. The name’s Armaldo. You uhh, happened to turn the corner at just the wrong moment. See my brothers and I were chasing a bounty, and one of the big lugs thought he had an opportunity to trip him up. He carries this gigantic hammer see, and he thought he had a shot at something that would’ve made the chase end then and there, but well, you happened to turn the corner right into his swing.”

Raq stared in disbelief. He wasn’t sure exactly what was going on but he was to believe he had taken a giant hammer to the face? While that would explain the pain, it seemed highly unlikely that he could survive something like that. Highly unlikely.

“I got some bad news for ya too. In the midst of the confusion seems our little bounty managed to swipe all your stuff. Seeing as how it was probably our fault and all my brothers went to go track the little thief and I stayed here until you came around. Now that you’re up and about we’ll go follow the trail and get your stuff back. Alright now let’s go. Can you stand?”

Bracing his hand against the wall behind him he attempted to wiggle his way into a standing position. He got about halfway up before his knees gave out and he collapsed into a heap. He shook his head feebly at Armaldo.

“Ah, that’s a shame. Well I’ve got a solution. Sorry, but you’re ‘bout to lose your dignity mate.”

He lifted the Long Arm almost effortlessly and to the boy’s squawk set off at a sprint. Brown dirt and stone walls, people clad in various suits of armor and other clothing blurred by. This man’s strength was unreal. Raquar was by no means a small man and the breakneck speed they raced through what the boy guessed was the Gan Sector due to all the dirt and rock was frightening. He saw the outer wall shoot into view, felt the man below him tense, sensed a surge of power and suddenly the boy was flying. They had cleared the wall by a good fifteen feet at least and the rush of air around them was both exhilarating and terrifying. He had passed out before they hit the sands of the Wasteland below.

When he awoke again it was to sounds of battle. He had been unceremoniously dumped behind a rock but at least his head was starting to feel better. He poked his head out from behind the cover and immediately retracted it as a fireball nearly took of his hair. Moving cautiously, inches at a time he crouched low and crept sideways until he could finally see what was happening. There were four figures engaged in some sort of monstrously fast engagement. He recognized Armaldo, aside from that were two of the biggest people he had ever seen, one carrying an obnoxiously large ornate hammer and the other a vicious crescent axe. The boy wagered those were the two brothers the man had mentioned earlier which left only the final figure. It was impossible to guess his height as he was surrounded by two behemoths and a dwarf, who looked ridiculous in comparison to his brothers. This best way to describe him was fast. The Long Arm could attest to Armaldo’s speed first hand, and it was nothing to be scoffed at, but this last figure dodged every strike from the trio of warriors with seeming ease.

He had a bandage looped sideways around his head covering one eye but that was the only discerning feature Raquar could make out. Everything else was hidden beneath the flourishing swirls of his cloak. Regardless he seemed to be enjoying himself as he flitted around strikes of fist, axe, and hammer and his own daggers lashed out, snakes leaving tiny bites on bodies of the brothers. As the boy struggled to keep track of the battle he saw something that was not sand colored off to one side. With a start he realized it was his vest. The thief must have discarded it before the fighting broke out. If he could get his stuff back maybe he could help Armaldo and his brothers out. After all, if it wasn’t for them it was likely he would have never had a chance to get his stuff back.

He crept slowly, inch by inch, keeping the battle in his sight so he could react to anything that came his way. He moved slowly, attempting to not draw attention as he crept toward his vest. He crawled ever closer, the only sporadic movements coming from when he was forced to dodge a stray rock or fireball. Eventually his vest was within arm’s reach and he didn’t think he had been noticed yet. Even if he had it looked like the thief had his hands full anyway. Slowly the boy’s hand slid outward until with a final lunge he managed to clasp his hand around the coarse fabric. The ground underneath the vest flared and energy crackled in the brief moment the boy had to think.

Of course. Booby Trapped.

A spire of lightning erupted from the ground underneath his vest and shot upward, puncturing the Long Arm’s chest and ripping through his back. He couldn’t even scream before consciousness fled from his body.

He was floating through a vast darkness, a sea of darkness. A sea of more than just immensity, it felt literally like he was being propelled through water, being dragged through a soggy sloppy muck. He wasn’t sure where he was, or why he was sensing himself from a perspective that wasn’t his own, but something about it didn’t seem final. He didn’t think he was dead, just, somewhere else. His journey wasn’t exactly one of self-reflection, to be completely honest he couldn’t really remember a whole lot, his head felt fuzzy and he got a weird claustrophobic feeling whenever he tried to think too hard upon past events. So he merely floated, not attempting to observe or think too deeply he simply went along with whatever happened to be pulling his body.

He didn’t know how long it had been before he heard the voice. It was quiet, but had a calming effect, one that seemed to surround him in the inky blackness, one that seemed to be trying to warm and nurture him.

”Ah, a traveler. This one so young, yet so twisted. What has happened to you to make your code so warped? Ah, poor soul. I can fix this, but it won’t be pleasant. You do want me to fix it right? Of course you do dear what am I saying. This warping can’t be fun. Ah, brace yourself child, you’ll feel better after.”

There was a light touch on his forehead and then fire consumed everything.

He woke to a vast open whiteness. The air smelled faintly of loam and leaves but he couldn’t see anything beyond the white. He felt shattered, like something had reached deep inside him and yanked out various parts of his being. But he also felt clean and raw, like something had scrubbed entire layers off his skin. He felt weak and vulnerable, he wanted to curl up into a ball to protect his ruptured insides but he didn’t have the strength to move. The voice from before, now strangely familiar floated over him.

”Ah awake now I see. You were quite battered young one, I had to thoroughly cleanse your code to heal you, and I haven’t had to do that in quite some time. You’re going to have to deal with some things I thought I should warn you about. You’ve essentially been recoded, when I removed what I could have of all the junk in your code it was in such bad shape it couldn’t have stitched itself back together and as of such I had to give it a little help recombining.

“You are still twilight infected, but I managed to somewhat belay the infection, and the previous infection that grew anytime you used its power was deleted. As a side effect however, so is your power. You also had another, something, in your mind. While it wasn’t necessarily detrimental it did hinder my process so I removed it as well. You’ll feel like a newborn. You still know how to do things like walk and talk but it might take a little rediscovery. Also, I regret to inform you that after this conversation you won’t remember much, if anything. In time memories might return but for now, nothing. It is time for you to return child, you slept in the Wastes and I have no idea where you will turn up, but when necessity calls, you shall find me again. Until then, young one, rest well.”


He was aware of the words that were being spoken but the depth didn’t register, he was not aware of his condition and as the voice trailed off he once more closed his eyes.

His mouth tasted like dirt. He blinked to clear the fog from his eyes and in front of him stood the most impressive collection of flora he had ever seen. A massive tree writhed up from the sand and from its roots branched other smaller trees, flowers, vines, bushes, anything that could possibly be a plant seemed to sprout somewhere from this tree’s trunk. It wasn’t just foliage however, small insects and reptiles crawled over the intertwining roots and branches making the entire thing a teeming mass of movement and life. And in his nostrils lay the familiar scent of loam and earth. He had no idea why such a scent seemed to call to him, but beckon it did, and it seemed like perhaps he might find out why in this giant tree. He struggled to his feet, and a struggle it was, he doubted he could’ve achieved it without the assistance of the walking stick he was clutching in his hand. He didn’t recall owning a walking stick but was grateful for the assistance it provided, pointy and oddly shaped at one end as it was.

Using the pointy end to dig into the sand underfoot the boy half walked half dragged himself until he stood before a small gap in the trunk. Overhead a cacophony of roars and clangs reverberated through the air and he couldn’t help but shudder. Compared to this giant symbol of life he felt tiny and young, like he had no business being anywhere near this wondrous place. Yet in his nose still lingered the odor of roots and leaves so with a sigh he managed to stumble through the small passageway in the base of the tree. The corridor was dark and damp, its floor worn smooth by an immeasurable number of feet stamping down on it. He managed to hobble his way through the corridor until finally it opened up into a fairly plain room, and he smacked into the back of somebody standing near the entrance. The man was tall and lithe, with an equally wicked look blade strapped to his back. It seemed to not be able to discern whether it wanted to be blue or white but gave off a definite chill regardless.

“Mmbkff.”

That wasn’t right. He had just run into somebody, he needed to apologize to them. Apologize.

“S-Sorry.”

The Blademaster turned and regarded the boy with a look more quizzical than anything.

"Hello. Good to have you back, I was afraid attrition claimed more of us than is comfortable."

Wait. It sounded like this man, whoever he was, knew him. He didn’t seem familiar, at least not at the moment. But if it turned out that it was in fact true, perhaps he would be better suited into sticking around with these people.

“Have. We met? Mmm. Head hurts. What is this place? Is this the place that smells like plants and life?”

The next look he got was more questioning than the first. The man pulled out something small and vaguely pen shaped. If it was in fact a pen, then it was sure to be dangerous judging by the sword on the man’s back. After analyzing whatever information the pen-thing gave him Demorian gave a low whistle.

"Something did a number on you. Yet you're here now."

The Long Arm supposed that was a good thing.

“I am here. I think. Well it sounds like I’m supposed to be here at least. So . . . what do I do now?”

"Whatever you like. Given how little you seem to know, however... best stick with us. Don't do anything too impulsive and you should be fine. I assume you have questions?"

Us. The boy hadn’t realized before but there were three other people in the room. A guy even taller than him, with a dark air surrounding him and only one solid eye, a scantily clad female whose look seemed to challenge whatever she looked at, and another Blademaster, this one struggling to walk as well it looked like. Except for the last one, the other three all looked quite capable and he imagined he’d probably be safer with them than on his own.

And questions. He supposed he probably should have questions, and might later. Right now though, he wasn’t sure where to start.

“I probably should have questions shouldn’t I? Ah well, when I come up with what I’m supposed to ask, I’ll ask. For now, sticking with you guys sounds like a decent enough idea. At least I’m not a total stranger.”
Level 28 Long Arm
Archspear, Newt Necklace, Smith's Gloves, Wyrm Scale, Kuja's Thong Dress
EXP: [700/1000]

WISHLIST
Levels
Weapons: - All
Armor: Head - Scarab Earring
Body - Nothing until Mid 30's. Ninja Garb Hand - Nothing until Mid 30's. Leg - Nothing until Mid 30's.
Items: Cooked Biles, Darkness Scrolls (Any and All)

Post Reply